Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-08-06
ABOUT UMBRELLAS.
THEIR ORIGIN ASSOCIATED WITH SHADE RATHER THAN MOISTURE.

The Umbrella n Relic of Solar wor-
 sh'P-Mrs. Camps sunshade-The Fash
 ionabie Article - Folding Up a siIk
 UmbreIla-A Sure Test.
 There are those who suppose that the origln of the umbrella is tO be sought for m man need of some portable protection IIOih the rain, which need found expres- sloh m the invention Of the modern um- oTeila Phiiology and science, however, point To different conclusion, the former telling us that the umbrella is associated Wlth shade rather than moisture, and the latter that it Is relic of solar worship. The word umbrella Is a reduplicated form oi the Latin word umbra. siCnifying
 shade. and means really little shade, m The same way that caliga ueggings) is father Co the word ''caligula" little leg gings.
 Having decided the origin of the word, We will next proceed tO give the view of a certain learned specialist as to the deriva- uon of the article itself The umbrella, according tO our authority, Is a relic of solar worship. was probably imported From Persia, and its origin has no more to do with keeping on rain than with keep ing of lightning or thunderbOlts The PersiGsls, it is well known, were worship CTS of the heavenly bodies, the sun Occu- pying the same place among their hier- archy of deities as he does among his own orbs. Viewing him Rs all powerful, as all intelligent, cognizant of the smallest act of their lives. the Persians hit at last upon a sort of portable screen which they might interpOse between themselves and his beams, securing for the former pri- vacy and for the latter ignorance of what his devotees were doing. This may sound a rather far fetched theory. but 1t is prob ably the true one, and whether or no, it is certain umbrellas did not originate in either Europe or America.
 THE UMBRELLA ABEoAp.
 In Siam the possession of umbrellas is restricted to those of high rank, Mir. Spen- cer telling us that one of the titles of the dusky monarch there Is King of the Um- brella Wearing Chiefs" In the two great university towns Of England etiquette dis countenances under graduates appearing on the streets with umbrellas. and only permits the airing of these luxuries to fel- lows and graduates. In fiction the person
  brella an immortality which not even the muse of tragedy could do. Indeed, the umbrella cuts but a poor figure in the tragedy, while it is quite at home in the flights of comedy or farce Mrs. Camps sunshade is so famous that it has given it's name to those fluffy, obese looking articles which one k apt to associate with the ranter of old times and with modern rep faf nf ha I st,. -T,,N fashionable umbrella is as different a looking affair to one of these as it is pos sible to imagine. A greater contrast does not exist between racer and a Clydes- dale than between the modern umbrella and its wOOlly prototype of Q generation ago. The former is made co silk. Is in- variably black. brown or gre, "a in hue. is fitted to light but strong framework, and whether viewed as a use or an orpa- ment k an eminently p---yI.. --0niect tS contemplate.
 Inc uinhrella < sOmetimes used as ( weapon of 3rnse and defense, but i. Father aXoOr affair lf you want c, strlsr your enemy a cood ''swashin. .i1ow you had better Lave recourse C, | some other implement. than an umbrella | Viewed in this light. itf presents more fa | cilities for being used stilcttO wise than a a claymore or cuilass. Everything to iJ u~es, and as you can't expect Go keep rail | ofI with foil. SD you must not hope C, | draw blood with an uiubrrilu. IT The lat ! ter Is disappointing as weapon of Uifeu-, so it Is as a weapon of defense.
 THE SILK UMBRELLA.
 IT you are the posSessdr of a silk um | brcila and are de~iruus o. appraiSing i,. | merits. see what proportion the spread o | il when open bears to the diameter whcI | shut To the extent the relation partake, | of the nature of an inverse ratio, tO that extent k your umbrella a good one Fold | ing up silk umbrella is quite an art, th, acquisition of which seems wholly impOs sible to some people You should gather the tips firmly together in your right hand. elevate your umbrella tO an anglS 6f fOrty-iive degrees with the trunk of tho body; then, commencing at the bottom with your left hand gather the folds oi the umbrella rapidly together, working | all the while toward the top When you | haze got as far as the confining band stop, adjust it, and your umbrella |: | folded \ folded silk umbrella which has "bights" in 1t or measures more than two inches in diameter is fraud. or else its owner does not possess the knack of fold ing it up properly.
 In the case of Ashantee the umbrella has figured as a trophy, the great sun shade of King Coffee being all the British have tO show for their waste of hlOOl and treasure in equatorial Africa.
 The material. hue and pOise of an um. brella are so many criteria of reSpecta bility. X man may deceive with his hat often, v'th his gloves seldom, but with | his umbrella never. It is an unerrine test of character, q passport to gentility, and nobody is quicker to recognize the ring of the true metal in another or tC detect the pretensiOns of the spurious ones than the true gentleman himself-San Francisco Chronicle.
 I Inc.